Good day
by A-Karana
Summary: What if Jack had gone to New York after his call in New York Friction?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All rights on Men in tress belong to ABC**

**Chapter 1: Starting the mission**

_Previously on Men in trees:_

_Marin: "Didn't know you had a tattoo"_

_Theresa: "When did you two start sleeping together?" Marin: "We're just friends"_

_Marin: "What just happened?" Jack: "Great sex" _

_Marin(reading the New Yorker): Oh god! This whole chapter is about Jack!"_

_Jack: "I am not your friend, I'm a subject"_

"_Marin: "So if I go back to New York now and never come back our "friendship" is over?"_

_Jack (on the phone):"I think I might be falling in love with you"_

With a subdued sigh Jack hung up the phone and turned back around to go back into the main room of the Chieftain. He was disappointed that he had only talked to her voicemail and not to her in person. In his head it had all been so clear- despite the several beer he had drunk already that evening. He thought he could call her and when she would answer he would tell her that he was sorry and that he read her article and that he liked it. And then he had intended to tell her how he felt. The voicemail had surprised him though and he had stuttered a bit and his big romantic declaration had become a stuttered apology with a "might" in the declaration of love.  
The booze had loosened his tongue and had also been the main reason why he had found the courage to call her to begin with.. Now it only enforced the feelings of regret and sadness because of her absence.

"And? What did she say?" asked Jerome, being his usual subtle self. Jack sat down between the elder man and Buzz on his abandoned chair.

"Nothin'" he replied and took a sip of his beer that Ben had placed in front of him meanwhile.

"You should have told her that you love her", Buzz offered his un-asked for advice without knowing what Jack had said.

"It's none of your business"; jack replied grumpily, his sadness and disappointment not helping his mood.

"We're just sayin'" Jerome replied and held up his hands defensively.

"She didn't answer. Went straight through to voicemail", Jack finally explained and toyed with the stem of his beer-glass.

"You left a message?" Buzz wanted to know.

"Yep," he said and took another sip.

"And?" Jerome prodded and raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"I told her", Jack nodded, his vision getting slightly blurry as he moved his head up and down.

"You told her voicemail", Ben pointed out. AS usual he had listened silently to the talk at the counter, but now he had to throw his five cents in.

"Uhm…" Jack said and felt a bit dumb now that he thought about it.

"You tell someone in person that you love her and not with a message on her voicemail", Buzz nodded in agreement. "Told Mai something important once by leaving a message on the answering- machine. Boy, did that backfire", he added.

"Messages always backfire with the ladies. If they don't get it what you're trying to say you can shut them right up if you're there in person, if you know what I mean", Jerome said and gave them a meaningful look.

"But you just said…" Jack protested with a smile, but Jerome just waved him off. While Ben went and brought another customer some food the three others sat in silence, each of them contemplating the situation. When he was back at his usual spot in front of them behind the counter he looked at Jack and then shrugged and grinned like the thing he was going to say was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why don't you go to New York and get her? Tell her in person and shut her up if necessary".

Jack slowly lifted his head. "New York?!" he asked.

"That's a good idea! I mean it is your fault that she is gone because you refused to read that damn article. You can't expect her to jump on a plane and come crawling back just because you left a message saying "I love you"", Jerome said enthusiastically. Something was happening right here at the Chieftain and he was there to meddle, what a joy!

"I said ' I think I'm falling in love with you'", Jack corrected.

Buzz snorted "Even worse".

"You need to surprise her, sweep her off her feet", Ben advised and smiled into Theresa's direction, while she was talking to some guests by the stage.

"Always worked for me", Buzz nodded and patted Jack amicably on his back.

"Can you fly me out?" Jack asked the pilot after a moment in which he tried to sort his thoughts in his alcohol clouded brain.

"Sure. Doctor says after my operation my eyes will be fine again", Buzz shrugged.

"I mean tonight", Jack clarified and stood up from his chair. He gripped the edge of the counter to steady himself.

"Don't you think it would be better to wait until tomorrow and sleep it off", ben grinned and pointed to Jacks hands.

"But I need to talk to her", Jack got defensive. Now that he had the idea of flying to New York in his head he didn't want to wait anymore. He wanted to talk to her and apologize. Tell her that he read her article and liked it. That he was flattered by the things she had written about him. And he wanted to see her eyes when he really told her that he loved her.

"If we fly now you won't get any flight from Vancouver. You will have to spend the night at the airport", Buzz said.

"I don't care", Jack dismissed it and let go of the counter.

"Atta boy", Jerome smirked and took another sip of his beer. "Go get her".

"Come on, let's go", Jack said impatiently to Buzz who just shrugged at Ben and stood up. Both men grabbed their jackets from the back of the chairs and put it on and then walked to the door. They were nearly out when Jack stopped suddenly and Buzz ran into him.

"Man, turn on your brake-lights", Buzz muttered and re-adjusted his cap.

"I don't have her address. I have no idea where she lives", Jack spoke out loud what had just popped up in his head.

"I have her address", Jerome said proudly and got up as well and walked over to his two friends.

"Why do you have her address?" Jack asked confused.

"I work at the post-office", Jerome rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should really wait a little longer if you can't even think that far". On that note they left the Chieftain under Ben's watching eyes and a small smirk and made their way to the post office to get Marin's address.

Of course in Jerome's chaotic office it took a while but in the end they were successful and could go over to Jack's to grab some clothes. That took exactly three minutes and then they were off to the "airport"… but then needed to turn back around because jack had forgotten his toothbrush.

So finally, at 2am in the morning Buzz Airways started the flight to Vancouver and mission "tell Marin how I feel in person" had started. If only they knew that Marin had had a similar idea…

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate them.

**Chapter 2: Sanctuary no more**

„Hey Marin, it's Jack. I read it. And… I'm sorry. I've been trying to stop thinking about you but I can't. And I think I might be a little bit drunk. And I think I might be falling in love with you. Anyway… Thanksgiving Coach!"

This was the message that was currently on Marin's voicemail, but which she hadn't heard yet because her phone was still put on vibrate. She didn't even realize yet that her cell phone was blinking. She had just run out of the diner and said she needed to go home. Home as in Elmo not as in New York.

But let's start at the beginning.

When Marin had arrived in New York three days ago she had felt great. The city had smelled great and had been more beautiful than she remembered. In fact New York had never been especially beautiful to her. She had grown up there and as a kid she had wished for more playgrounds and parks and less cars and buildings.

As she had become older she had come to appreciate the malls and endless opportunities that was New York City. It was a paradise if you appreciate a big city. You can go shopping in the middle of the night, you get food from all over the world at every day or nighttime and everything seems possible- is possible really if you just work hard enough or have a talent that the other millions of inhabitants don't have.

Marin had that and when she had published her first book and it had sold so well she had felt like the queen of the world and Manhattan had been exactly the right place for her to be.

Now when she had come back from Elmo she had had that exact feeling again. Everything was new and exciting, everything seemed possible and nothing out of reach.

She didn't remember her apartment being that spacious and pretty. Nothing looked rustic or worn. She had enough space for all of her clothes, actually she had all of her clothes here and they weren't even unsuited.

Neither was there a raccoon in her closet eating her clothes or waking her up the middle of the night. Instead she had a dove as a new pet, how romantic was that?

The thing she appreciated most tough was her own bathroom in which she could even use a hairdryer without the electricity going out in the whole town. She chuckled when she pictured whole New York without electricity because of her hair-drier while she was using said item after her shower.

It had been an adventurous shower, she had to admit, because the shower-head was far from being fixed and at first the water had splashed everywhere but not on her body and then, when she had ribbed off the shower-head the stream had been so hard it had hurt at first. Regulating the water-

flow had been successful, but the water had gotten colder and so she had to use more hot water… causing her to burn her toes when suddenly only hot water had come out of the tap.

She had survived it and was now blow-drying her hair and humming along with the sound of it. In Elmo she had never been able to make her hair the way she used to and her curls had always been wilder and only tame-able with a lot of products and spray.

Yet in Elmo nobody had noticed her bad – hair month and she had come to like her Elmo-hairstyle. Especially after Jack had washed and cut her hair.

Jack, there he was again in her head. She just couldn't get him out. No matter how often she had told all the others these last few days that they were just friends and that she didn't miss him she knew it wasn't true.

At first she had been shocked when the first two possible publishers had asked her what she was doing in New York when Jack was a real human being and she knew him. They had really thought she had made him up, the perfect man, but she hadn't. What hadn't been in her article though was the fact that Jack was a proud and stubborn man and refused to read said article. Because of that he wasn't talking to her anymore. She could still see the disappointment on his face when she remembered their talk when he had thrown the New Yorker into the flames.

She sighed and switched off the hair-drier. It didn't matter anyway how her hair looked because she would celebrate Thanks Giving only with Jane and Liza and without anyone she needed to look good for.

She placed the hair-drier back on the shelf and took her make-up bag. Before she started to apply it she closed the shower-curtain so it could dry. She really had to call a plumber to fix the shower-head. In Elmo Jack had fixed it…

She sighed and took the powder from the bag and started her primping. She ended with a spritz of perfume on her top and gave the mirror a satisfied nod. This was the perfume she had thought she would get the skunk-smell off, but Jack had told her that it wouldn't work and had ordered her into a tub filled with tomato-soup. And all that after she had first bought him, used him as a handy-man and then accidentally run him over with her car.

He had thrown her out in the end because her help was unwelcome. But not that long time later they had slept together… twice. God, it had been so hot- both the sex and the weather.

They had both agreed on being just friends afterwards, but had they ever been just friends? The possibility of more had always floated around them and not just because of the sex.

She didn't feel that good anymore when she thought about Jack. The homey feeling that the apartment had given her before seemed gone and she couldn't let that happen. This was her home and had been for a whole while longer than Elmo.

Elmo was… Elmo was just…. Elmo was a temporary home. A place she had needed at the time she had found it. And now that she was better and over Graham she didn't need Elmo anymore and could go back to needing New York.

The doorbell rand and she knew that Jane had arrived.

"I'm going", Liza yelled through the apartment and opened Jane the door while Marin took another minute to compose herself in the bathroom. This was her life now and it was a good life. Even in New York, without Jack.

* * *

She had never thought that she would find herself in a run-down diner in New York for

Again she felt that the diner was too loud, even the cars on their way to the diner had seemed to loud, too shrill and she couldn't hear her own thoughts. Yesterday evening she had had to leave the party because the noise and the many people had been too much for her and she had wondered for the first time if New York was still her home and her apartment still her sanctuary.

It felt like neither the city nor the apartment did want her there. Everything was falling apart or being a problem and the things that were neither and just perfect weren't so perfect anymore to her. Not even all the offers from the publishers, who kept asking the same questions and who kept giving her the same disbelieving look when she told them that yes, Jack was really existing and that no, they weren't a couple and had never been.

And she couldn't write anymore in this city, this was also a thing that was confusing her. Stuart had been right: Elmo was her inspiration and she couldn't write anymore without it.

And then she had admitted that she missed Jack. Not Elmo, not Alaska, or the Chieftain, but Jack Slattery himself. The guy that had cut her hair, bathed her in tomato- soup, slept with her twice, had taught her how to fish, fixed nearly everything she owned or lived in, saved her raccoon, and told her ex-fiancé that he had slept with her just so he would go and leave her alone. This Jack Slattery.

But also the stubborn guy who had refused to tell her who Lynn was, who had told her to leave him alone when she had tried to help him, the guy who had said he was only a subject for her, the guy who had ended their friendship because he refused to read the article she had written and which had been published without her permission. She missed even that Jack Slattery. She felt relieved after finally admitting it to her best friend.

And then Sam came into the diner, the plow-guy in shining armor, she had been happy for Jane, but she had also envied her. She wished Jack would come to New York and tell her that he was sorry and that he loved her and couldn't stand to be without her. She wished for him to tell her to come back, to come home.

And when that thought had registered in her brain the decision had been made. She would go home. Home to Elmo and home to Jack. She would tell him that she was sorry so often that he would understand that she really WAS sorry. She would tell him that he was her friend and not a subject. And she would tell him that she had feelings for him that had nothing to do with friendship.

So she jumped up from her chair in the diner, saw Liza admiring Sam and Jane, who were still kissing each other passionately. She wondered for a second if they would even notice it if she would now and then grabbed her jacket and ran.

"I gotta go", she said.

"Where?" Liza asked her confused and snapped out of her daze.

"Home", Marin replied and was out the door.

Back at her apartment she wrote a letter to the building manager, telling that she would let go of the apartment. And before Liza was back from the diner she had thrown some clothes into her bag and checked the flight to Elmo the same night. Ten o'clock. She would be back home at ten pm.

She stuck the dove into a shoebox and then set her free in the park so she could find her way home.

Completely ecstatic she took her phone out of her jacket pocket, without paying attention to the blinking sign in the right corner of the screen and called the Chieftain while she ran to her apartment to get her stuff.

"Chieftain", Ben answered the phone and sounded so familiar that it made her giddy inside.

"Hey Ben. How's the orphan Thanks Giving?" she asked with a bright smile that was audible in her voice… as well as her panting.

"Great. Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm great just running. I'm coming back to Elmo. There's a flight after Seattle tonight and with the time difference I think I could be in Elmo by ten ", she blurted out and then accidentally hung up, because she nearly crushed into a burly guy who was coming her way.

She thought about calling again, but then decided against it. Ben knew and they knew she would be back and that was enough. She had to hurry anyway to get to the airport in time. She stuck the phone back into her pocket, still oblivious to the blinking and the fact that she had put it on vibrate yesterday for the party and couldn't hear Ben's tries to call her anymore. Otherwise she would have known that Jack was on his way to her.

Because sometimes you have to do the unexpected thing. The thing that just feels right… but maybe would work better with a little planning and talking.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate them!

**Chapter 3: I'm Graham**

„So, you already know what you're gonna say to her?" Buzz asked while they got their stuff out of the small plane of Buzz airways.

"Not really. I'll try it with "hi" to start with", Jack joked lamely.

"Maybe you should call her and tell her that you're comin'", Buzz suggested and slammed the door of the plane shut.

"Nah.. then it's not a surprise anymore", Jack replied and followed Buzz inside the airport. He didn't really want to surprise her, but neither did he want to call her. He was scared that she was still angry and would tell him to stay away. Or that she needed time to think- which with women was never a good thing- and tell him to go back home and wait for her decision. However he didn't want to wait anymore. He wanted to clear the air and get his woman, the woman he loved.

"So, you go over there and get your ticket to New York and I fly back home", Buzz nodded when they stood inside the airport. There were lots of people around them and Jack already felt suffocated. He wasn't used to that many people in one room; all of them chatting and hurrying past each other. He took a deep breath.

"Ok, I will. Thanks again Buzz", He said and gave the pilot a manly hug.

""It'll be ok, son", Buzz replied and patted Jack's back. With one last look over his shoulder Jack walked to the counter to get his ticket to New York.

"To the airport please", Marin said when she sat down in one of those yellow New York cabs.

"Sure Ma'am. Going on vacation?" the driver asked and looked curiously at her though the rear-mirror.

"No, I am going home to tell Jack that I love him", she told him openly and with a happy smile, although it was absolutely none of his business.

"He's one lucky guy, this Jack", the driver grinned and started into the crazy New York traffic.

"I hope he thinks so. The last time I saw him he basically told me that we are not even friends anymore. And I get it, I really get it that he was angry and everything, but he shouldn't have let me go. I shouldn't have gone away. I should have stayed in the first place and force him to talk it out and to read that stupid article."

"There was an article about you? Are you famous or something?" the afro-American wanted to know.

"Me? No, absolutely not. I mean.. I was a bit famous once…. When my books came out… I am still writing that is and I wrote a chapter about Jack and then some women came only to see him and 

prodded about his personal life and he thought I betrayed him and published all his secrets, which is not true. I was just writing about what a great guy he is, but because he never read the article he didn't get it and ended our friendship", she rambled and the driver nodded silently.

"If I would sell an autograph of you, would it get me any money?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

Marin laughed. "Maybe Annie would buy it… or would have bought it. Now that she's in Elmo as well she can just ask me for one herself at any time she wants".

"Elmo? Never heard of it", the driver replied. "West Coast?"

"Alaska", Marin said.

"Alaska? Nice, uhm… cold", he grinned.

"Yeah it really is… cold", she giggled after she spoke out the last word.

"Small town?"

"Really small", she nodded.

"It's where Jack lives, huh?"

"Yeah, I met him there. But it's not why I went there at first. "

"You don't look like you're into fishing", he smiled.

"Oh believe me, I am not. Although when Jack taught me a while ago…"

"Jack again", the driver interrupted her and his smile got even bigger.

"Yeah, Jack again", Marin laughed. "Anyway, I went there for a job and then just stayed".

"Didn't you say you're an author?"

"I am a relationship coach. After my fiancé cheated on me I find out though, that I know nothing about men. And where else can you learn something about men, than In a town full of men?" she asked with a smile.

"You could have asked me", he laughed.

"I will remember that for the next time".

"If Jack will be okay with it. I mean, you will tell him that you love him and he is a damn fool if he doesn't feel the same way about you," the elder man nodded. Marin just smiled, but didn't say anything. If Jack would only feel the same way….

* * *

After Buzz had left Jack in the airport building he had a meeting he had never guessed. While he was walking back to his plane he suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Hey, is this the flight to Elmo?"

Buzz turned around and came face to face with Lynn. Photographer Lynn, traveler Lynn, Lynn who had grown up in Elmo. Jack's Lynn.

"Lynn?!" he stuttered and was surprised when she actually hugged him.

"It's good to see a familiar face again", she smiled.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her and glanced over her shoulder to make sure that Jack was not coming after him, for whatever reason.

"I'm on my way back to Elmo", she smiled and let go of him.

"So you're coming back?" he asked her surprised. After she had left Jack no-one would have thought that she would ever come back.

"Not for long, just to get the rest of my stuff from Jack", she replied.

"Oh ok, then let's go", he said and took one of her backpacks from her. He didn't know why, but somehow he feared that Jack would seek him out again and then run into Lynn. He wasn't sure what would happen if Jack would see her. Maybe he was angry now that she had just left him and wouldn't even talk to her. But maybe seeing her would stir up old feelings of hurt and maybe even love and he wouldn't go after Marin anymore. And he, Buzz the pilot, needed to avoid that.

"Wait, wait", she smiled and stepped away from his arm which was leading her. "I need something to eat and drink first, I'm starving", she said and wanted to march back to the airport.

"I just bought something", he replied and waived with the Dunkin Doughnuts bag. "It's really crowded in there and we need to hurry. There's storm coming up and I want to be back home this evening", he said and grabbed her arm again to get her into his plane.

* * *

_The Menaissance by Marin Frist_

_My friend Jack has taught me about balance. That it is just as important in nature as it is in yourself; That when you care for someone they can care for you back; That you can trust other people to help you out and that you can trust yourself._

_You don't have to say everything you feel. I know this because I met Jack, the first real man I've ever known._

Jack had read this article multiple times since he had first read it. Even know on the plane to New York he couldn't stop reading it. He had memorized the words while he had waited the whole night at the airport for the flight and still every time he read his name it gave him goose bumps.

He had read every word and thought about every word and he couldn't understand anymore why he had been angry. 'Because you were too stubborn to read it, you stupid idiot', he scolded himself and read the first paragraph again.

"Pretty good article, huh?" grinned the woman who sat beside him.

"Huh?" he snapped out of his daze. "Oh yeah… pretty good".

"God, I wish I knew a man like this Jack", she sighed dramatically.

"Ah really", he grinned.

"Yeah he just seems like… the perfect man. This Marin Frist is a lucky woman.. if he really exists", she said.

"Or Jack is a lucky guy to have her", he muttered, but she understood him.

"Huh, nice thing to say. Do you know her?" she asked.

"Me? Yeah, actually I do know her", he nodded and smiled a smitten smile.

" You look like a Jack", she contemplated. "Are you Jack? The Jack?" she grinned.

"No, I'm not the Jack. I'm not that perfect", he shook his head and closed the magazine.

"What's your name?" she wanted to know.

"I'm… uhm… Graham. My name is Graham", he said and thought about Jerome's and Buzz cracker joke that still made him smile.

"Hi Graham. I'm Julia", she introduced herself and they shook hands.

* * *

"Hi, I need one ticket for a flight to Vancouver today", Marin said to the woman behind the counter.

"First class, business class or economy?"

"Honestly? I don't care, I just want a ticket", Marin replied and fidgeted giddily.

"I'm sorry mam, but we're booked", the woman said after a few minutes of silent typing.

"What? But I need to get home today", Marin shrieked.

"I'm really sorry".

"Isn't there another flight?"

"Not today. Half the flights got cancelled because of the bad weather in Vancouver and the others have been delayed", the woman replied.

"But… is there really no way?" Marin asked panicked.

"I'm sorry, but there really is no way," she smiled apologetically at Marin.

"Ok, thank you", Marin sighed and went to a bench and plopped down on it. First the traffic jam in New York, now the flights to Vancouver had been cancelled. What should she do now? With a sigh she stood her purse between her feet and decided to wait. She would wait here until there were flights to Vancouver again. And then she would tell Jack.

**TBC**


End file.
